Happy Summer, Happy Learning!
The LiveWell Learning Collaborative is in full swing! Participants are putting into practice the 5Es – Engage, Empower, Explore, Excel, and Evolve (see more below). They started with growth mindset and emotional intelligence – two essential aspects of leadership. And they’ve learned the first two core practices of quality improvement: Visual Management and Teamwork & Communication.
A Learning Collaborative team from Guardian Angel Homes Richland works together on their Community Quality Borad, a key foundational practice that uses the exceptional visual communication tools from the LiveWell Method™.
Luz Martell, Director of Nursing at Guardian Angel Homes Hermiston, shares about the motivating power of pursuing excellence, the importance of empathy for improving care, and the role cultural competence plays in creating a culture of open communication and shared decision-making.
This week the group is learning the third of three core LiveWell practices: Resident Safety. When teams understand how to integrate the daily practice of Resident Safety into their operations – and involve residents, visitors, and family members too – everyone is safer. This week participants realized that their colleagues working in beautician, transportation, dietary, and even the chaplain’s department can be in a position to perceive a resident's change of condition and could easily help the nursing staff by filling out a Resident Status at a Glance Form.
There are four major domains of Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI):
Person and community-centered culture
Teamwork and communication
Improvement oriented culture
Attention to efficiency and organization
The core practice of Resident Safety is essential to achieving these four domains of quality. When staff are working well together, they are measuring and tracking falls or medication errors or showers given or any other activity/issue/problem and making changes based on what’s happening shift to shift. Their attention to what’s happening results in a safer community for both residents and staff. The LiveWell Method and tools are designed to educate every person passing through the doors of the facility about Resident Safety and provide an easy way to take action.
Why should you join a learning cohort and do LiveWell?
Because it helps you create the kind of communities where staff and residents thrive together. Where literally everyone works in sync to innovate care, nurture dignity, build community, and honor elders. It is possible. We can do this if we focus on five core principles:
ENGAGE: LiveWell offers practices and tools that include everyone, which helps staff and residents build an equitable and inclusive community. Every person knows that they belong and are a valuable part of making their community a better place to live and work.
EMPOWER: These same practices and tools improve teamwork and communication, making it easy for people to take meaningful action in order to improve the care and safety of residents and staff.
EXPLORE: Curiosity about new ideas, technologies, and ways of living and working is key to becoming an innovative learning organization.
EXCEL: LiveWell-trained teams know what excellent care looks like, use their strengths to model excellent teamwork and communication, and are skilled in best practices of tracking measuring, root cause analysis, and tests of change.
EVOLVE: Over time, organizations that are committed to excellence and a growth mindset find learning opportunities everywhere. They develop a culture that sustains continuous improvement, nurtures innovation, and above all ensures that everyone belongs.
LiveWell also helps retain staff and build community. Communities that do LiveWell have a 60% decrease in staff turnover. LiveWell also improves the quality of life for staff AND residents. Residents have fewer falls and fewer medication errors, while staff experience fewer workplace injuries.
LiveWell communities also reduce their costs: reduced falls and increased staff retention help communities save an average of $135,900 annually.
Our team has just expanded! We welcome Analuz Abing. Feeling those warm Summer vibes!
— Barbara, Steve, Andy, Marcus, Cecilia, Whitney, Ann, Miles, and Judy, and Ana